Manufacture of hosiery



Jan. 4, 1944. BONNER 2,338,375

MANUFACTURE OF HOSIERY Filed June 28, 1940 Patented Jan. 4, 1944MANUFACTURE OF HOSIEBY Friedrich Oswald Donner, Chemnitz, Germany;vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application June 28, 1940, SerialNo. 343,057

- In Germany July 8, 1939 4 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in the manufacture of hosieryand is particularly directed to a new type of stocking provided withnovel and simple means to prevent the stocking from getting damaged whenpulled onto the foot and leg of the wearer.

It is a well known fact that hosiery consisting of thin threads of realsilk or artificial silk will easily get torn when pulled onto the footand leg, because those places of the sock or stocking to which thepulling force of the fingers is applied are neither strong enough toresist that pull of the fingers, nor capable of transmitting the pullingforce in properly distributed fashion to the adjacent parts of the sockor stocking.

In order to overcome this rather serious d awback it has already beenproposed to provide the sock and stocking along the seam on the back ofthe article with a tube-like strip of fabric and a cord loosely passingthrough that latter strip of fabric. The idea being that pulling thestocking along that cord onto the foot and leg of the wearer would be asafe and easy way to prevent the stocking from getting damaged.-However, in practical use this kind of an arrangement is ratherunsatisfactory, as thinly looped hosiery of real silk or artificial silkwhen pulled along cords will quickly wear out.

According to the present invention I solve the problem in a very muchsimpler and more satisfactory way. I provide the leg-portion of thestocking with one or. a plurality of longitudinal strips of fabric.These strips I arrange on the outside of the stocking in such a way thatthey will serve as a means by which the stocking may be seized andpulled onto the leg, whereby the pulling force of the fingers is passedon to the various portions of the stocking in a properly distributedfashion. These strips may be attached to the stocking in various ways.One or a plurality of them may be fastened in the longitudinal seam onthe back of the stocking, while additional strips may be arranged on thesides of the stocking or along the symmetry line on the front part ofthe stocking.

In order to make my invention more readily understood I will now proceedto describe it with the aid of the accompanying drawing which.

forms a part of this specification and in which the same referencenumerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. However, it is to beunderstood that changes, variations and modifications which come withinthe scope of the claims hereunto appended can be resorted to.

In the drawing:

Figs. 1 to 3 are perspective views of the stocking, showing how thestrips are arranged on the sides of the stocking and along the symmetryline on the back of the stocking;

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of the stocking, showing howthe strips may be formed integral with the stocking by providing thestocking with longitudinal folds.

In the drawing l is the stocking, while 3 is the seam holding the edgesof the stocking together and forming the symmetry line on the back ofthe stocking. Fastened along the symmetry line is a strip of fabric 2with one of its longitudinal edges by means of an elastic seam. Thisstrip may be of any suitable kind, but should preferably possess thesame elasticity and extensibility as the leg of the stocking. The stripmay be produced either through knitting, weaving or braiding with orwithout the addition of rubber threads. It may be of any shape andformation. It may be smooth or fashioned like lace work; it may beprovided with holes or with projections and recesses at the edge; it maybe of. substantial width or narrow like a cord; it may even consist ofonly a crocheted or plaited string or a fringe. It is also possible toform the strips from the stocking itself by providing the stocking withlongitudinal folds as indicated at 4 of Fig. 5.

In stockings and socks provided with a longitudinal seam 3. one of thelongitudinal edges of the strip 2 is fastened in that longitudinal seam(see Fig. 1) Additional strips may be arranged on the sides of thestocking or along the symmetry line on the forward portion of thestocking, either by sewing or with the aid of adhesive material, or inany other suitable way (see Figs. 2, 3, 4) But, care should be takenthat the strips do not reach down to that portion of the stocking which,when the stocking is being worn, is covered up by the shoe of thewearer, to prevent the creation of unpleasant areas of pressure. In theexamples illustrated in the drawing the lower ends of the stripsterminate either in or beside the reinforced portion 5. But, of course,it is also possible to let them reach down a little lower, or, to havethem terminate somewhat higher up. And, naturally, the same applies tothe upper ends of the strips, which either may start in the reinforcedportion 6, or lower down as illustrated in the drawing. It is furtherpossible to subdivide the strips into a number of separate portions witha corresponding number of intervals between the individual portions, asillustrated in Fig. 3. It is important only that the strips are of suchformation that they afford a reliable hold to the hands of the wearer,and, that with their aid the stocking-can conveniently be pulled ontothe foot and the leg without making it necessary for the wearer to touchthe looped fabric of the stocking proper which, if directly touched bythe fingers, might not be strong enough to resist the pull and get torn.That is why the strips should be so arranged that their free edge, i. e.the one which is not fastened to the stocking, can be lifted from thelooped fabric.

My invention can be applied to any of the ordinary types of stocking. Itmay be of the regular form as produced on the fiat hosiery frame and onthe circular knitting machine, or cut from warp fabric and produced ofone thread or a plurality of threads of any desired thickness.

What I claim is:

1. In a stocking consisting of looped fabric, strips provided on theoutside of the stocking and longitudinally of the latter, said stripsbeing longitudinally attached to the stocking with only one of theirlateral edges while the other lateral edge freely projects from thestocking in outward direction to such an extent that it affords areliable hold to the fingers and thus is adapted to serve as a means bywhich the stocking can be seized and pulled onto the foot and leg of thewearer.

2. In a stocking consisting of delicate threads of looped fabric,elastic ornamental strips provided on the outside of the stocking andlongitudinally thereof, said strips consisting of fabrlc correspondingin elasticity and extensibility to the looped fabric of the stocking andbeing longitudinally fastened to the stocking with only one of theirlateral edges while the other lateral edge freely and loosely extendsfrom the stocking in outward direction to such an extent that it affordsa convenient hold to the fingers and thus is adapted to serve as a meansby which the stocking can be seized and pulled onto the foot and leg ofthe wearer, whereby the pulling force of the fingers is passed onthrough the medium of said elastic strips to the various portions of thestocking in uniformly distributed fashion, so that the danger ofdamaging the delicate threads of the looped fabric through unevenlydistributed pulling force is reduced to a minimm.

3. In a stocking consisting of looped fabric, strips provided on theoutside of the stocking and longitudinally thereof, said strips beingfastened in longitudinal seams of the stocking with only one of theirlateral edges while the other lateral edge freely and loosely projectsfrom the stocking in outward direction to such an extent that it afiordsa reliable hold to the fingers and thus is adapted to serve as a meansby which the stocking can be seized and pulled onto the foot and leg ofthe wearer.

4. A stocking as defined in claim 2, in which said ornamental strips aresubdivided into a number of separate portions with intervals betweensaid separate portions.

FRIEDRICH OSWALD DONNER.

